2011 - Lucy Smith

Tall. Dark. Handsome. He’d been around the track--literally. He was nice to look at but an absolutely exasperating
partner. So I worked with him three to five times a week for two years, because I had to make it work. I wanted to
compete, and I needed a horse. Without deep pockets in the equestrian world, you have to be determined and
creative.

I named him “Nobadeer” after a beautiful, yet obscure beach in Nantucket. He came to me after a successful
Thoroughbred racing career in Suffolk, Massachusetts, where he raced by the name “Back to Bernie.” He had won
nearly $100,000 in his career, but by the time I found him, he was down on his luck – so skinny his nickname was
“Slim.” He was on his way to the dog food factory when we purchased him at auction. He knew next to nothing
about the “hunter” horse world. To say I had my hands full would be an understatement!
I remember taking him to a clinic in Gloucester, Virginia, to work with a former Olympic trainer. He watched us ride
for a minute before saying, “You must have incredible patience to work with that horse the way you do.” He
added, “Why did you choose him?” There were many days when I asked myself the same question. However, on
the days when he’d trot to me when I called his name in the pasture, I knew the answer: He needed me too!
When “Nobi” (my nickname for him) and I competed together our first season, people stared and whispered. “That
horse is crazy,” they would exclaim as we flew by in a blur. At times, spectators would try to compliment my riding.
“Way to hang on Lucy,” was a remark I heard frequently. I wanted to give up, but I didn’t. I persevered – and
stayed on!
This season is different. My “crazy” horse Nobi and I placed first in our most recent competition. My competitors
now congratulate me. When they tell me, “You have a beautiful and talented horse,” I say to myself, “I made this
horse!”
With the help of my trainer, I transformed Nobi from a frantic, down-on-his-luck, ex-racehorse into a competitive
“hunter” horse; however, he has done so much more for me. He has taught me to believe in myself and to
understand what it means to work hard for what I want. He’s my man—all 1200 pounds of him—and I wouldn’t
change that for the world. (Hal Tayloe Project, 2011)